With their first-ever championship win now in the books, the New York Liberty are looking to continue on this path of greatness. After acquiring some big names this offseason, it’s clear to see that while they’re relying on the talent they’ve been working with in the past few years, the front office has recognized the shortcomings of this Liberty team, and are trying to make the team as strong as it possibly can be to compete with the several teams who’ve done complete roster overhauls during the offseason. With some new and familiar returning faces, the Liberty will have their work cut out for them as they try to put their best foot forward regarding the 2025 team.

When it was announced that veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot would return to the Chicago Sky, many fans were left wondering who would fill the role of G2. Sloot and Sabrina had such a cadence with one another that it would be somewhat complicated to recreate; however, last year, when Vandersloot was out due to family reasons, the rookie, Leonie Fiebich, stepped up and held her own as the Liberty’s sixth woman. Fiebich, a forward, was unstoppable last year, especially in the postseason. She was the unsung hero who helped get the team to the promised land because, after filling in for Sloot’s absence, she filled in for Benijah Laney-Hamilton after she sustained a knee injury right before the Olympic break last year. It is a no-brainer that after last year’s performance, she would’ve been the one they’d slot into the starting five, especially now with Benijah on the mend from yet another surgery. Towards the beginning of Free Agency, the Liberty signed the veteran forward Isabelle Harrison, who, until the Laney-Hamilton injury about a week after Harrison signed with the team during the Unrivaled season, was projected to be an incredibly useful sub that could produce efficiently off the bench; however, now, it seems as though Harrison and Fiebich could compete for that last starting spot to fill the void left by Benijah and her knees.

So, who would be the better choice of the two? Let’s take a look at their 2024 stats. The two played in almost the same number of games in 2024, with Fiebich playing 40 games throughout the season as a rookie and Harrison playing in 36 games for her 2024 team, the Chicago Sky; however, Fiebich started 15 games for her club while Harrison saw the majority of her playing time coming off the bench (she only started fime games). Harrison’s time on the court taps out at 19.9 minutes, spanning her entire WNBA career from 2016 through now. While Fiebich has only had one season in the W, she’s had about the same time on the court, playing 20.5 minutes. Fiebich racked up 267 points last season, whereas Harrison only scored 234, and per game, Fiebich saw around 6.7 points per game, whereas Harrison saw 6.5. Harrison’s defensive numbers are also something to look out for. Last season, Harrison had 3.9 total rebounds per game, whereas Fiebich only had 3. Harrison’s blocked shots per game were a tenth of a point better than Fiebs’ as Harrison put up .3 blocks per game, and Fiebich had .2. On paper, they are more or less identical, but one key factor that Coach Sandy and the staff address is the need for this position to sink a three-point shot.

While it’s not mandatory for the position to sink a three, the Liberty count on Benijah to sink at least a few threes per game; she didn’t earn the nickname “Benijah Buckets” for nothing. Last season, Fiebich proved time and time again that the Seafoam Army could count on her in big moments, sinking just under half of the shot attempts she made, connecting on 43% of her three-point shots. Harrison’s metrics from last season can’t even compare to those numbers. That’s where these preseason training camp games come into play. It’ll be interesting to see how much of a competition there will be for Benijah’s spot as a starter and whether or not the Liberty will go with their promising younger stud or if they continue to start the season with yet another veteran presence on the court. With Fiebich missing the first few weeks of camp due to her previous commitment with Valencia Basket in Spain, Harrison might have bought time to make a name for herself before Fiebich’s return.

COMEBACK SZN IN FULL EFFECT 💪 pic.twitter.com/Jafqrucqzf

— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) May 4, 2025

Most recently, the Liberty were celebrating the return of Rebekah Gardner, whose rights were obtained by the Liberty in a 2024 trade, knowing she couldn’t contribute to the team immediately after returning from injury. Gardner wants a comeback year with the Liberty after a plague of foot and knee injuries affected her time in Chicago. She had an All-Rookie season in 2022 and was quickly re-signed by her team, but was sidelined soon after suffering a season-ending foot injury in the third game of the 2023 season. She returned to the game and began playing overseas, but then tore her right Achilles tendon, which also prevented her from playing last season. Now with the departure of Kayla Thornton, thanks to the expansion draft, Gardner, who the Liberty re-signed to a training camp deal, could fill the void left by KT and become the team’s go-to reserve.

There will be another newer face on the court, a familiar one who will officially be wearing the home team’s jersey. The most significant moment for the Liberty offseason came about two months ago, when they announced a mid-March trade with the Connecticut Sun, in which they obtained three-time All-Defensive Team icon, Natasha Cloud. When the Libs picked up Cloud, the doubts of how this team, which, until the Cloud trade, were running it back with a virtually similar roster from last year’s championship team, would compete with the newly established Phoenix Mercury, Atlanta Dream, or Indiana Fever. Cloud’s presence gave fans an easier chance of projecting the starters for the 2025 Liberty, as she’ll join the “core” made up of two-time WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart, 2024 Finals MVP Jonquel Jones, and three-time WNBA All-Star Sabrina Ionescu, making at least this core four a challenging one to go up against if you are an opposing team. With Cloud picking up the defensive work that Sloot would have excelled with, plus her ability to shoot from anywhere in the paint, it’s genuinely like we only gained during this offseason and barely lost.

It will be interesting to see what the Liberty do regarding positioning; however, whatever they do, they are still the reigning champions in the WNBA and will continue to be a force. As it was mentioned, some teams were extremely busy during the offseason, so new rivals will likely form and new teams will dominate the game; however, it’s known to all WNBA fans that if there’s one place you would want to call your home court, it’s Barclays, and with that the Liberty will always remain relevant. With the new faces and names, we’ll see how well the front office addressed our offseason needs and how well this unit of women can hopefully work together to bring home another trophy to Brooklyn.